Method of weaving



Patented Dec. 24, 1929 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1170., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE METHOD OF WEAVING No Drawing. Application-filed November 18, 1826, Serial No. 149,274. Renewed July 24, 1929.

This invention relates to weaving on automatic looms of the socalled color or shifting shuttle-box type, and aims to provide a simplified method of weaving with a plurality of characters or colors of filling.

This method may be practiced with any preferred or well-known automatic loom of the type mentioned, the replenishment of filling being effected in any desired manner, whether bychange of shuttles, of bobbins, or otherwise. In the looms referred to are included worsted and other. shifting shuttle-box or drop-box looms, that is, looms having at one end of the lay a shifting shuttle-box or drop box with a plurality of cells, one for each of a like plurality of shuttles, and a feeder, magazine or battery, of the rotary or other type, at the opposite lay-end.

My present method has an important though notan exclusive use in connection withthe weaving, on such a loom, of goods having approximately equal numbers of substantially regularly recurring picks of the plurality of different characters or colors. Forexample, in weaving goods commonly known as georgette or crepe, two picks of filling of a given color. and having a given direction of twist, say, right hand twist, are alternated with two picks of filling of the op posite direction of twist. and sometimes of a different color or shade of color; the shifting shuttle-box is moved in the well-known manner to bring the desired shuttle into line with the shuttle-race at the proper time.

In accordance withmypresent invention, the quantitiesof the active filling supplies with which my method is to be initiated, thatis, at any point at which the use of my method is to be begun, are varied as between the respective shuttles, either by winding less filling on the Carrier or carriers or the like for one or more of the shuttles, or by depleting them or employing partially depleted carriers or yarn-packages. Where two shuttles with two different characters or colors of filling are to be used the length of filling for one is made less than for the other, one shuttle, for example, having a full filling supply and the other a partially full filling supply. If the plurality of shuttles includes at the proper time in any desired manner,

whether by changing shuttles, bobbins or otherwise.

These fresh supplies are sequentially arranged in or presented to the feeder with re spect to their different characters or colors,' in an order to coordinate with the order in which it is predetermined that the active fillings will require renewal, as determined by their comparative quantities and by the pattern. In the case of but two active supplies each laying substantially the same length of filling in a given time, this presentation or arrangement of the fresh supplies will be a regular alternation as between the two characters of colors thereof. Thus the arrangement or presentation of the fresh filling supplies is made such that when the first call for a transfer shall occur the filling supply then in position for transfer will be of the same character or color as that in the shuttle predetermined to be the first to exhaust or substantially exhaust, by reason of the different lengths of the active fillings, and the pattern. In some cases such as that of georgette, etc., above mentioned, the shuttle prede termined to be the first to exhaust or substantially exhaust its filling will be that which was least filled when my method was instituted; in other cases, where more than two different colors or characters are used or where the pattern requirements are more or less irregular, some other shuttle, predeterminedly, may be the first to exhaust or substantially exhaust.

The described proper positioning of the fresh filling may be attended to either before the loom is started, or after starting of the loom but before a transfer is called, as by turning the battery, if of the rotary type, to bring into the lowermost or transfer position sequence of a fresh filling supply of the character or color of that in the shuttle which is predeterminedly the first to require replenishment. The fresh filling supplies in some cases may be of full quantity and in other cases their relative quantities may be such as initially employed in the corresponding shuttles.

From the foregoing it is apparent that the exhaustion of the active filling supplies is predetermined. Upon starting my method of weaving, it is predetermined as to which active filling will run out or substantially exhaust first, which second, and so on. The relative quantities of filling supplied the shuttles at the initiation of my method is preferably sufficiently different as to insure the desired interval, after one requirement for transfer, before the next call will occur, taking the pattern into consideration, whether regular or otherwise. With the fresh filling supplies provided in a sequence coordinated, as to char acter or color, with the sequence of the renewal requirements of the active fillings, as above described, a transfer of the correct character or color of filling will necessarily take place. I

As far as is known to the inventor the prior art consists in causing a more or less complicated battery construction to remain in step with the shifting shuttle-box or dropbox by always shifting therewith, or in keeping the battery stationary during the actual weaving process and transferring fresh weft- ,carriers of the required character or color of filling when depletion has been indicated, by then moving the battery around to the proper point. In carrying out the method of the present invention, however, the feeder or battery may be of the simplest form possible, for example, such as a uni-color filling supply mechanism as used for plain or singleshuttle weaving. My method thus makes it possible to weave a plurality of characters or colors of filling without a feeder, battery or other associated mechanism especially designed to take care of the different kinds of filling renewals, thus obtaining with the simpler mechanism the function of the pluralcolor or plural-kind filling supply .mechanism.

In practising the method, either suitable measuring means or a filling feeler may be used to call the transfer, preferably a filling feeler, but such feeler requires no special construction or arrangement and may be of any desired type, such, for example, as that shown in the patent to Brown et al., No. 1,593,426, which is well known in the art. The transfer, whether of shuttles or of filling packages, may occur at total or substantial e1- haustion of the active filling, and the term exhaustion as herein used is intended to refer to either and both cases. l/Vhile in carrying out my novel method a rotary battery may be employed, any magazine, battery or other supplier or feeder may be used, so long as the filling supply positioned for next introduction into active status, whether by changing shuttles or by changing filling packages, is or a character or color properly coordinated with that active filling which I predetermine will be the next to become depleted or exhausted.

As previously stated, this method of weaving is particularly but not exclusively applicable to a great class of goods, such as georgette and crepe, wherein no widely varying amounts of filling are taken from the difierent shuttles during a given weaving period. It will be noted that in such case the firstpresented renewal supply will correspond in character or color to that of the active filling of least length when the method is initiated, and that for each supply exhaust, that is, discharge, including the first exhaust, there is then presented in introduction or transfer position a new supply of the opposite character or color.

My method is not limited in practice to the particular steps or operations described, its scope being pointed out in the following claims.

I claim 1. That improvement in method of weaving in an automatic loom using two active filling supplies respectively of different color or character, each laying substantially the same length of filling in a given weaving period, which comprises establishing a status of one filling supply of substantially less length than the other thereby to predetermine the order of renewal requirement and to facilitate such renewals. V

2. That improvement in method of weaving in automatic shifting-shuttle-box looms which comprises establishing for the respective active filling supplies of different color or character, substantially difierent lengths or quantities thereof thereby to predetermine the sequence of exhaustion, and providing fresh filling supplies sequentially coordinated as to color or character with said sequence of exhaustion.

3. That improvement in method of weavin; in automatic shifting-shuttle-box looms which comprises employing a plurality of active filling supplies respectively of dif ferent color or character and also respectively initially of substantially different lengths or quantities thereby to predetermine the sequence of exhaustion, and providing thereaftr fresh filling supplies of substantially uniform length and in a sequence with respect to color or character coordinated with said sequence of exhaustion.

l. That improvement in method ofweaving in an automatic shifting-shuttle-box loom using two active filling supplies respectively of different color or character, each laying substantially the same length of filling in a given weaving period, which comprises es-' tablishing a status of substantial difference in length of one supply as compared witl the other thereby to predetermine the order of renewal requirement, and presenting for first introduction a renewal supply corre sponding in coior or character to that active filling supply initially of least length, and for each supply exhaust presenting in introduction position a new supply of the other color or character.

5. That improvement in method of weaving in automatic shifting-shuttle-box looms which comprises establishing for the respective active filling supplies of different color or character substantially different lengths or quantities thereof to predetermine the se quence of exhaustion, and presenting for subsequent renewal first a supply correspond ing in color or character to that active supply which was established of least length and thereafter presenting forevery supply exhaust a new supply of the required color or character.

6. That improvement in method of weaving in an automatic sl1ifting-shuttle-box loom which comprises establishing a differentiation of filling supplies with respect to color or character by substantial difierences in length or quantity and thereafter utilizing said differentiation for determining renewals of said supplies.

7. That improvement in method of weaving in automatic shifting-shuttle-box looms which comprises establishing for the respective active filling supplies substantially different lengths or quantities thereby to predetermine the sequence of exhaustion.

8. That improvement in method of weaving in an automatic shifting-shuttle-box loom which comprises initially differentiating active filling supplies as to color or character by substantial differences in length or quantity and thereafter utilizing said differentiation to determine the functioning of cooperative weavin steps.

9. That improvement in method of weaving in an automatic shifting-shuttle-box loom which comprises employing a plurality of active filling supplies of respectively different color or character and also respectively and initially of substantially different length of supply thereby to predetermine the order of renewal requirement, and providing subsequent renewals in the same predetermined order.

10. That improvement in method of weaving in an automatic loom using a plurality of active filling supplies respectively of different color or character which comprises predetermining the sequence of exhaustion of the respective filling supplies thereby to facil itate subsequent renewals thereof.

11. That improvement in method of weavpredetermined ing in an automatic shifting-shuttle-box loom employing supply renewal means having uniform cycles of operation which comprises predetermining the sequence of exhaustion of the active filling supplies, and presenting therefor filling renewals respectively of different color or character predeterminately provided in sequence corresponding to said sequence of filling exhaustion.

12. That improvement in weaving upon a shiftingshuttle-box automatic loom employing a uni-color filling-supply mechanism which comprises predetermining the sequence of exhaustion of active filling supplies and presenting to said uni-color filling supply mechanism, plural-color or pluralkind renewals, predeterminately in the order of active filling exhaustion thereby to obtain with said uni-color filling-supply mechanism the function of a plural-color or pluralkind filling-supply mechanism.

13. That method of weaving which comprises placing in a plurality of shuttles filling supplies of different character or color and of different quantity relatively to each other, placing sequentially a plurality of characters or colors of filling renewals in the feeder, leaving in transfer position, before the automatic transfer could occur, a filling renewal of the character or color of that in the shuttle carrying the least amount of filling.

14. That method of weaving which comprises placing in a plurality of shuttles filling supplies of different character or color and of different quantity relatively to each other, placing sequentially a plurality of characters or colors or filling renewals in the feeder, leaving in transfer position, before the automatic transfer could occur, a filling renewal of the character or color of that in the shuttle carrying the least amount of filling, and permitting the loom to continue automatically its sequence of operations, whereby the proper character or color of filling will always be supplied in renewal.

15. As a new method of weaving on automatic, shifting shuttle-box looms, employing a plurality of active filling supplies of different character or color and also initially substantially differing in quantity, and provid ing fresh filling supplies in predetermined sequence with respect to said character or color, and with that supply first available which corresponds to that of the active supply initially the least in quantity.

16. That method of weaving goods having approximately equal numbers of substan- .tially regularly YBCUIHRO picks of a plurality of different characters or colors, which comprises relatively varying the lengths of the fillings which are to be active at the initiation of said method, and supplying to the magazine, battery or other feeder renewal fillings of said plurality of different characters or colors, sequentially positioning them in said magazine, battery or other feeder with the character or color of the filling which will be first presented for transfer coresponding to that in the shuttle initially having the shortest filling.

17. That method of weaving on automatic 2 x l shitting shuttle-box looms which comprises supplying the two cells of the shifting shuttle-box with shuttles having relatively different amounts of their respective fillings, arranging the filling-carriers in the magazine or battery alternately with respect to the character or color of the filling carried by them, and so arranging the magazine or battery and alternately disposed carriers therein that when the first call for transfer shall occur the filling carrier then positioned for transfer will correspond with respect to the character or color of its filling with the shuttle initially having thelesser amount of filling.

18. That method of weaving which comprises placing in a plurality of active shuttles, fillin s respectively differing in character or color and also difiering in quantity, and supplying renewals in a suitable feeder in that order, as regards their character or color, in vhich the corresponding active shuttles will exhaust as predetermined by the comparative quantities of their fillings and by the pattern.

19. As a new method of Weaving on automatic, shifting shuttle-box looms, providing in a plurality of active shuttles filling of different character or color and also initially differing in quantity, and providing renewals sequentially arranged with respect to said character or color, making first available,

where the fabric calls for substantially equal numbers of regularly recurring picks of said different characters or colors, that renewal which corresponds in character or color with that of the filling in the shuttle initially having the least filling, and, where the fabric has considerably different numbers of picks of said different characters or colors and/or requires those different characters or colors at irregular intervals, providing renewals in the predetermined sequence of exhaustion of the corresponding active shuttles and in the same relative quantities as initially provided in said corresponding active shuttles.

9.0. As a new method of weaving on automatic shifting shuttle-box looms, throwing through the shed, sequentially, a plurality of active fillings respectively difiering in character or color and also differing in lengths, and supplying renewals to and through a suitable feeder in that determined order, as regards the character or color of the fillings, in which the cor .sponding active fillings will exhaust as determined by their comparative lengths, and by the pattern.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

RANDOLPH OBOMPTON. 

